Dragon Eire
by TheMaskedArtist
Summary: An abused orphan, turns to piracy to find her brother, a pirate. But, she gets kidnapped by the crew of the Red Dread, who unbeknownst to her, has struck a deal with her brother to bring her to him for a member of their crew. Better summary in my profile.
1. Memories

_I remember only two things, in particular, from my past. They were possibly the best and worst things to happen to me. I lived with my aunt and uncle, in Tortuga, for most of my younger years. My parents, I was told, had died when I was still too small to remember. I didn't know them, and I really don't care. I am not one to dwell on the past too much. My aunt and uncle weren't ever very rich. They were always very common and never nice. They would always beat me; even if I had done nothing wrong and never let me forget how much of a 'burden' I had been on them. I tried my best to do everything they told me to do, but I would still get a beating. It didn't matter._

_One day, when I was about ten years old, I had gotten away from my uncle's abusive grasp and I was roaming the streets alone, crying. Of course, in Tortuga, no one would have even looked twice. It may have been a good town to trade in, but almost everyone was drunk and no one cared much at al about a child. As I was walking, I was occupied with staring at the ground and wiping my tears. At one point, I looked up and before I could stop myself, collided with the leg of a man, probably nineteen or twenty. I stepped back a few steps and looked down at the ground again._

"_I'm…sorry," I sobbed. He knelt down on one knee. _

"_Why is one so small traveling this dangerous place, alone?" he asked. He put a hand on my head. "What is wrong?"_

"_Don't bother with her," a woman said, a few feet away. "She's a no-good orphan. Her aunt and uncle are always saying how she never does anything she's told."_

"_Excuse me, madam, this is none of your business," he said. She turned up her nose and walked away. "Now, little one, don't be sad. I, too, am an orphan. I know what you must go through. From now on, don't let gossip or anything get into your way from getting what you want. Don't let their abuse get to you." He stood up. When I finally got the courage to look up, all I could see was his back, as he walked away, towards the docs. At the time, it didn't register with me that he knew I was being beaten and I didn't think about this meeting for years afterwards. I would almost say I forgot about it. _

_When I was fourteen, I started to sell myself to earn money to get off this rock and travel somewhere else. Most of the men were pirates, I would assume. Never in the same place for very long. I would always have to be drunk to do it. I didn't dislike the taste of rum, but I had tasted better. And that brings me to my other memory._

_I never regretted any of it until I met my last customer. I suppose you could call him a customer, anyway. He didn't fuck…but he did pay, and not with money. I was sixteen, standing outside, by myself, with the other women, who were considerably older than me. The others would stand in groups, talking about the latest gossip in Tortuga. I was always a loner, though. I didn't care much for gossip and, at the time, didn't know why. I had a bottle of rum with me, but I hadn't really started on it. This man, most likely around twenty-five or thirty years old, came up to me. I'd seem him before, every once in a while. He would always sit across the street and stare, but never took any action. He was definitely a pirate. He grabbed me, by the hand, rented a room in a nearby inn, and took me up. When we got behind closed doors, I started to unlace my bodice, assuming that's what he wanted. He walked up to me and took my hands away from the strings. I looked up at him, confused. He shook his head._

"_What is your name, child?" he asked me, still holding my hands in his. _

"_Michelle," I said, looking down. "But, why does it matter?" He let go of one of my hands, put his under my chin, and forced me to look up at him. He looked into my eyes. His eyes were kind even though he was a scalawag._

"_You're so young…" I didn't understand why he was talking and not pounding. Most of the men didn't talk at all. He took his hand from my chin and stroked my blonde hair. "How did you get sucked into this way of life?" I forced my hand away from his and turned away from him. _

"_I'm trying to earn money to get away from this place." I couldn't tell what he did next, but I heard him move to another part of the room. I turned around to find that he had sat down on the bed. He looked over at me, sternly._

"_This…" He pointed at me, at my clothes, "… is no way to live." All I could do was shrug. This is all I'd really ever known. He held out his hand. "Come here and sit with me." I did as he commanded and sat next to him on the bed. He looked at my bodice, which was halfway undone. "Why don't you lace that back up? I'm not going to do anything to you." I ignored the remark about the lacing._

"_Then, why did you bring me here?!" I exclaimed, standing up. "I have work to do!" I started to head for the door, but his hand caught my wrist._

"_Do you want to know how your parents died, Michelle?" I turned back. He smirked. "I see, that sparked some interest…"_

"_How would you have known my parents?" He opened his mouth to respond, I assume, but the door burst open. I jumped, scared. Soldiers stood in the doorway of the room. Before I could even think, the man had pushed me on to the bed and unsheathed his sword._

"_Captain Jet Randell, you are under arrest." _

"_Stay there," he commanded, without looking down at me. I turned away from the battle. I heard the clanking of swords and a single thump on the floor. "Michelle…" I turned back to see 'Jet' on his knees, facing me. There was a sword through his chest. The soldier who had done it, pulled the sword out and the pirate slumped against the bed, just barely alive. I gasped, tears starting to form in my eyes. With whatever strength he could muster, Jet grabbed my hands and pulled me close. _

"_You have a living brother," he whispered. My eyes got wide and the tears fell. "You've met him…told me to tell you not to cry. He's the First Mate on my ship, love. The Black Oblivion…already left this town…" I nodded, grasping his hands tightly. "Find him…" Another soldier came up behind him, obviously annoyed that he was taking so long to die, and sliced off his head. I don't remember screaming, but I remember hearing it…_

"Michelle?" The voice of my fellow crewman broke me of my thoughts. I blinked and looked around. My boots were wet, and so the was the mop I was leaning against. The bucket I was using had gotten knocked over and the water was flowing everywhere. The man walked up to me and looked at my mess. "Day dreaming again, I see." I sighed and nodded.

"Sorry…," I said, bending over to pick up the bucket. I set it on it's bottom. "I won't do it again." He laughed and leaned up against the side of the ship.

"You say that all the time, my dear." I shrugged and stood back up. "The Captain is not going to be very happy if he hears that you've been slacking on your work, again." I nodded again.

"And I've appreciated you not telling him." I reached into the small, leather pouch that hung from my belt and pulled out a coin. I flipped it to him and he smiled at me. He put it in his pocket.

"Now, get back to work," he commanded and winked.

"Yes, First Mate Bonny," I said with a playful smile.

"Ah, there you are William," the captain said, walking over to him, holding a rolled up map. "Is something the matter with Michelle, here?"

"No, Captain," Bonny said, looking down at me. "I was just having a little chat with her." The captain nodded.

"Well, then, William, put these maps back into storage." The first mate took the paper from his superior and walked away. Then, the captain held out his hand to me. "Now, Miss Michelle, would you please join me in my cabin for a few moments?" I set the mop against the side of the ship and took his hand.

"Of course, Captain." He escorted me to a room that had a poorly made bed, a large desk, a lot of candles of the desk, and a bunch of random things hanging and lying about. He let go off my hand and sat down at his desk. He took of his hat, laid it on the desk in front of him, and pointed to a chair for me. I sat down and looked at him. "Have you heard any news, Bryant?"

"I have, actually," the captain, said, laying back in his seat. "The Black Oblivion fought a battle with The Red Dread. I'm not sure why they had it out…but, I do know where the Black Oblivion is recuperating."

"Where?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my chair.

"They are in China," he said with a smile. "And luckily for you, we're heading not too far away from China, so I think we can make a fast stop there. We need supplies, anyway." I nodded. "Now, Michelle, this could be just like last time."

"I know," I said, already aware that he might not be there by the time we got there. "I know, but it's worth a shot…" Bryant nodded again.

"Captain! Captain, you should come up here and have a look!" someone from above called. The captain looked stood up quickly and hurried out of the room, forgetting his hat. I followed close behind him. Before we got to the deck, something shook the ship so hard it knocked me into the wall. Bryant stopped to help me up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, standing me back on my two feet. I nodded and pushed him forward so we would get out sooner. We got outside and immediately saw the red flag of the ship who had fired upon ours. "The Red Dread," the captain muttered next to me. "Pray we get out of this alive, Michelle." I looked at him, my eyes wide open, and then looked back at the other ship. It wasn't any bigger than our ship, but that ship…had it's own reputation.

"Captain!" William Bonny called from the helm of the ship. Bryant grabbed my wrist and rushed over to his first mate with me in tow.

"William, hide Michelle," the captain said, holding my wrist out to the other man. Bonny took it from him and started to pull me towards the ladder that led below-deck. Before we got very far, I pulled my arm away.

"I'm not a child!" I yelled, back at the captain. They had been hiding me ever since I joined their crew, almost 11 months ago, just after Jet died. "I can fight!" Bryant looked at me, his expression serious. He thought hard for a few seconds and nodded.

"You have a sword, yes?" he asked, looking at me in the eyes. I nodded. "Alright. Stay close to me and William, Michelle. And if you get stuck, call for one of us. That's an order." I nodded.

"Yes sir." I unsheathed the Arabian-style sword on my belt and looked over to the enemy ship.


	2. Dragon Eire

(A/N: I've gotten a few faves on this story, but I would appreciate some reviews too ;;

Disclaimer, since I forgot it last chapter: Pirates of the Caribbean does not belong to me, but Michelle and most of the characters that end up being in this story are all mine, except for the Red Dread, Andrew Shackles, and the rest of that crew. They belong to my friend Drew.)

I'd heard rumors about the Red Dread before. Their captain, I was told, was a fairly young man, probably around my age. His whole crew was made up of rebellious teenagers, mostly from Japan, who were unusually good at sailing for their age. They had formerly been part of some famous gang. I don't know what went wrong, but they are now no longer part of it. They were all very agile and stealthy. Almost no one had ever won against his crew. My eyes looked the ship over. The red flag whipped in the wind. Before long, ropes from the Red Dread started swinging over to our ship. The first thing I saw was a flash of red and felt a thump under my feet. They were here. Their captain, I assumed, was wearing a blood red coat, brown pants a boots, and a pair of broken irons, still around his wrists. He had bright red hair and green eyes. Bryant moved in front of me. I could heard the other captain smirk.

"_This_ is the Devil's Disgrace?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else. I saw a few more ropes swing out of the corner of my eye as a few more of his crew members landed on our ship.

"What business do you have here?" Bryant asked him. He unsheathed his sword and held it, tightly, in his right hand.

"You have something we need," the younger captain said, taking a look around.

"I highly doubt we have anything that would interest you."

"Oh?" He took a few steps around. I could hear him mumbling something under his breath. He stopped moving around when I was in plain view to him. I looked over at him and he flicked his pretty eyes at me for a second. He looked at Bryant, smiling devilishly. "I believe you do." He pointed at me. "You give us her and we'll leave your ship and crew alone." My mouth dropped open, in surprise. Bryant and William looked at me for a moment.

"Absolutely not," Bryant said. "I have a pact with her that I cannot sever." The other captain dropped his arm and shrugged.

"That's a shame," he said. He pulled out his Cutlass and pointed it at my captain. "I shall have to take her by force then. Prepare to die by the sword of Captain Andrew Shackles." Before another word was uttered, Andrew broke out into a fight with Bryant, who recoiled and almost fell on top of me. An oriental man came up behind his captain and immediately went after Bonny, which left me to fend for myself for the time being. Andrew pushed Bryant away and took a look to someone behind me. He nodded after wiping some sweat off of his forehead. Before I could turn, someone grabbed me from behind, holding a hand over my mouth. He made me drop my sword. I elbowed him in the gut. He took his hands off of me and doubled over, his hands over his stomach. I bent down to pick up me sword and before he could do anything, I had turned around, holding my sword out towards him. He looked Spanish, and about as old as me, if not a year or so older. He looked up at me.

"I don't think so," I said, glaring at him.

"Diego?!" I heard Andrew call out a few feet behind me. The one called Diego, who I was fighting, stood up, rubbing his stomach.

"I'm alright," he said, looking at his captain. "The little bitch just caught me off-guard." He pulled his own sword out and crossed it with mine. It was a little smaller than my Arabian sword. He took a look at it. "Impressive sword. But, do you know how to use it properly?" He smirked, took a step forward, and went in for the first attack. I moved backwards and blocked his sword. "Good." He took two steps to the side, and I followed.

"I'm not stupid," I said to him. "I trained with a sword master before I joined this crew." Before long, we had made half a circle and I could see William, still fighting the same boy. Bryant was on his knees, staring up at his opponent, sweating and breathing heavily. He had a cut on his cheek, which was bleeding down his chin. Shackles was standing above him, holding his sword to my captain's neck. The broken metal chain, from the irons he still wore on his wrists, was clanking against the hilt. I froze, forgetting Diego. How could a boy his age bring my captain to his knees?

"Captain!" I yelled. Without thinking, I dropped my sword and started for Bryant. I only remembered Diego was there when he caught me with his arm and pushed me over. I fell to the ground, next to my weapon

"I don't think so, sweetheart. Your fight is with me," he said. He pointed his sword at my neck. "A word of advice, never drop your guard." I ignored him and glanced over at the other two. Andrew was about to drive his sword through Bryant. My eyes widened.

"Stop!" Andrew paused, but kept his eyes on the other captain. My captain looked over at me in surprise. My eyes were starting to well up, no matter how hard I tried to hold it back.

"Yes, my dear?" Shackles asked me. I stared at Bryant for a few seconds, staying completely silent. "Was there something you wanted to say?" I shifted my eyes back up.

"I'll go with you," I mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I'll go with you!" I exclaimed, loudly this time. All the fighting around us stopped. "But you have to leave the captain and the rest of the crew alone." Andrew smiled, pleased. He dropped his sword from the other man's neck and sheathed it.

"No!" Bryant said, standing up quickly and tried to come to me. The Japanese man that Bonny had been fighting, caught him before he could reach me. "What about -"

"It doesn't matter," I said, staring at him right in the eyes. One of the females on the crew of the Red Dread picked my sword up so I wouldn't get to it. Diego grabbed my upper arm, tightly, and forced me to my feet. Andrew motioned for his crew to follow him back to his ship. Diego dragged me with him, still holding my arm. When we passed Bryant, he grabbed my hand and forced me back. I spun around and found my lips on his, instantly.

When he pulled away, he whispered, "I'll find you." I nodded and squeezed his hand. The other man pulled me away from him. The last thing I saw of the crew I had been apart of for almost 11 months was Bryant, full of worry, and William, trying to hold him back.

When we reached the Red Dread, Diego finally let go of my arm. I didn't doubt that my arm would be red for a while. He had a strong grip. They took my belt, which had the sheath to my sword, my money pouch, and a small bag of extra gun powder. They took my gun, which was strapped around my thigh, and my knife, which was hidden in my boot. Andrew instructed my effects to be taken to his cabin.

"What about the girl?" the female pirate, who had taken my sword from me, asked her captain. Shackles thought for a few seconds to himself.

"Take her to my quarters," he said, finally. The girl nodded. "Ah, but don't let her have her weapons just yet." She nodded again. He walked away, towards the helm of the ship. Diego grabbed my arm again. I growled and pushed it off.

"I can walk on my own, thank you." I glared up at him. "And if I were to run away, where the hell do you think I'd go?" When we got to the cabin, Diego left, but the girl laid my weapons on the desk and waited for her captain to come in. A few minutes of silence passed before I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Andrew burst into the room. He looked at his crewmember and nodded.

"Thank you, Benten, you are relieved," he said. She nodded and walked out of the room. He closed to door and turned around to see me standing there, uncomfortably. He circled me, looking me over, which made me feel even more uncomfortable. He saw some of the ink from my tattoo on my bare shoulder and went to pull my sleeve down to reveal the rest of it. I slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me," I said, angrily. He smirked and walked over behind his desk. I watched him pick up my sword. He examined the curved blade, which was engraved with Middle-Eastern symbols and the hilt, which was embedded with black jewels. He looked at me with an approved expression on his face.

"This is a nice sword," he said, pointing out the obvious. I rolled my eyes. "I only know of a few people who carry swords like this." He put it in it's sheath and looked back up at me. His eyes were really a brilliant shade of green and his red hair complemented it well. He looked at my shoulder and then back at my face. "I see…You trained with _them._ What is the name they gave you?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Well, I have to call you something. And I know that you won't give me your real name," he said, with a shrug. "Or I could just kill you now…" He went to put his hand on his sword's hilt.

"Dragon Eire." Andrew smiled and slowly took his hand off his hilt.

"Good, we're making some progress." He moved around the desk and back over to me. He looked at my face, his eyes pouring over every feature. "I can see why he would want you…," he said, quietly.

"What?" I questioned, shooting him a glare. "What was that?" He hesitated for a moment.

"Nothing," the young captain said after a few moments. The ship shifted violently to one side. He grabbed on to the edge of his desk to keep from falling. I stepped back and tried to gain balance, but I stepped on a loose floorboard and fell backwards, landing on my butt. When the shipped stopped rocking, I looked up at Andrew, who was looking at me, trying to hold in his laughter. I scowled, stood up quickly, and ran out the door. I almost knocked over a short, little kid who was about to knock on the door. The poor kid looked shocked when I ran past him. "Wait!" I heard the captain yell out at the door. I ignored him and ran up to the deck. The sun was starting to set already, and the crew was starting to settle down. They were all sitting in a circle, the oriental ones telling stories of when they were in the gang. I stopped running when I reached the front of the ship. I took in a few deep breaths, trying to catch it and leaned over the railing. The ocean below us was pretty calm. I saw Bryant's face in the water. It made me close my eyes and look away. Someone walked up behind me.

"Go away, Shackles," I commanded, assuming that it was Andrew who had come to try to talk to me.

"I'm not the Captain…" I turned my head so I could see who it was. His voice was familiar. Diego stood there. His face looked kinder than it had before, when I was fighting him. I looked back at the water, hoping he would go away. Instead, he walked up next to me and leaned over the railing of the ship, next to me. "Sorry for grabbin' you so hard," he said, pointing at my shoulder. I shrugged.

Doesn't hurt…" We were both silent for a few minutes. I sighed. "Sorry for snapping at you…Being taken away from the person I love before I can say goodbye…" I bit my lip, thinking of Bryant again.

"Why don't you let me make you something to eat?" I looked up at him, surprised. "You must be hungry." Diego stood straight up again and held out his hand to me. I shrugged again.

"I'm…" I dropped the sentence. "Thanks." I took his hand and he led me down to his kitchen. "You can call me D.E."


	3. Life

Diego was one of the best people I had ever met, in my entire life. Up until I joined the crew of the Devil's Disgrace, no one had ever really treated me as an equal. Then again, it was really only Bryant. Maybe that's why I loved him. Even now, I can't say that it was truly love or not. Maybe it was just lust for not being with a man in so long…maybe it was because he was the male figure in my life that I had never had. Who knows? Diego would make me whatever I wanted, granted that we had the ingredients to make it. I pretty much sat down there, invading his space for a week. He didn't say anything to me about it, but I started to think he wanted me to leave.

One night, while sitting alone with him below deck, I decided to ask him about Andrew Shackles, but it turned out to be quite a different conversation. It made me think.

"Is An-…the Captain…is he usually…" Diego looked up at me from his own food. He was sitting on his bed, holding a bowl in his hand.

"He's a good Captain," he said. "He's lived a tough life…"

"Haven't we all?" He shrugged and nodded.

"I suppose." He was silent for a few seconds. "What's your story?" I shrugged and looked down at the ground for a minute. When I looked back up, I pointed to a scar just about my left breast. My shirt was only half covering it.

"This didn't come from any amazing fight with the navy or anything. My uncle was a coward. I lived with him and my aunt for a long as I can remember until the Devil's Disgrace adopted me into their crew. My parents died when I was very young and the people they sent me to live with hit me whether I did anything wrong or not," I explained. Diego nodded. "Just a little less than a year ago…a man by the name of Jet Randell came to inform me that I had a brother and he was looking for me. He told me to go look for him. I struck a bargain with the captain of the Devil's Disgrace and we've been looking for him for 11 months. We were heading for China when you guys took me…" Diego finished his food and set the bowl on the ground.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen." He nodded.

"Same age as the Captain."

"There is a reason he picked me up," I said, looking straight at his face. "I know there is." He held up his hand to my mouth. He shook his head. I took that as he was not going to tell me what I wanted to know. He went to sleep not long after that. After I thought everyone was asleep, I silently tip-toed out of the kitchens and was about to go up to the deck when I heard Andrew's voice coming from his cabin. The door was ajar and candle light came through. At first, I thought he had seen me, so I froze in my place and listened. He sighed.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked himself, out loud. "I can't get there…without going through here…and we need to stop for provisions…" I turned around and went up to the door. He sat there with a hand on his forehead, his violent red hair falling all over him. He looked really distressed…and I thought it made him look adorable. I thought back to a week ago when I ran out on him for laughing at me. I realized I overreacted and figured he must have a lot on his mind. After all, he was only a kid, like me. I knocked on the door. He looked up, his eyes catching my attention yet again. "Come in." I opened the door, slowly. His eyes widened when he saw me walk through the door. I closed the door behind me and leaned up against it. "Dragon Eire?"

"I just…" I looked down at the ground, away from his face. "…thought I'd come and apologize for…overreacting." He stared at me for a few seconds. I could feel his eyes on me.

"It's alright…," he said. "I wasn't exactly…welcoming." I nodded and looked back up from the floor. He had a map set out in front of him.

"I heard you mumbling…," I said, walking behind his desk and leaning over the map. "What are you trying to do?" He looked up at me from his chair.

"Usually when we take people captive," he started, moving a strand of my blonde hair out of his face, "they're a little more resistant." I pulled all of my hair over the other shoulder and shrugged.

I've just been thinking…I'm here now, not on the Disgrace anymore. I heard you while we were there…you took me for a reason." I looked down at the map. "I used to pour over maps with Bry-…my captain…before. Now, tell me." For the next ten minutes, Andrew explained to me what he needed to do, where he needed to go. We had to stop to get food and ammunition but we had to get to India in the next week. When asked, he didn't tell me why they had to get to India so quickly, but if he wanted to get there in that amount of time, they would have to wait for provisions until India. I stood, leaning over his shoulder for half an hour giving him different options.

"I think that we can hold off until India," the young captain said when I was finished. I nodded. "But do you really think we can get there within a…" He looked up at me standing over him and paused. I wasn't looking at him, but I could see him staring out of the corner of my eye. I tried to keep my eyes focused on the map. I had one finger on our position and looked over to India.

"Yes…I think we could…" His eyes caught mine. "I should…" We stared at each other for about half a minute.

"You should what?" he asked, starting to stand up. He moved his chair back and it hit me in the leg, knocking my concentration on him out the window. I blinked and quickly looked away before my face started turned red. I grabbed Andrew's compass, which was sitting on the corner of his desk.

"I should go…steer us in the right direction." I turned on my heels and started walking out the door. His chair scraped against the wood floor as he stood up. I was almost to the stairs that led up to the deck when he called me back.

"Wait!" I stopped instantly and slowly turned back to face him. He bent over on the other side of his desk and when he stood up, he was holding my effects. "Since…you don't seem to be thinking about running…you might as well take these…" He walked to the doorway and held them out. I took them from his hands.

"Thanks…," I said. He nodded and went back into his cabin. I turned to go back up on deck. The moonlight lit the way to the helm of the ship. While I walked there, trying not to make a sound, I slipped my dagger into the hidden sheath in my knee-high, black boot and thought about Andrew. He had the most amazing eyes I'd ever seen…and I'm a real sucker for eyes. At first, I had thought him immature but he had just redeemed himself. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad…

"Ouch!" I was pulled out of my thoughts just before I tripped over something that talk and fell on top of it. My weapons fell to the ground. I scrambled off of whoever it was and looked down. It was the same boy I almost ran over when I had just come aboard. What was a kid like this doing on a pirate ship? He looked up at me. I stepped over him and picked up my things. Before I moved again, and with my back facing him, I slipped my belt on around my waist. I made sure all of my money was still there. My gunpowder pouch was still full. I buckled a smaller belt around my thigh and stuck my gun in it. The little boy behind me got to his feet, quickly. "You're not supposed to…"

"Andrew gave them to me, kid. Save it," I said, turning my head a little. I picked up the compass and started for the helm again. I could hear him following me.

"What are you…"

"You shouldn't really sleep in places that will get you run over." I finally reached my destination and opened the compass.

"You cant-"

"What's your name, kid?"

"Sully, miss…but…"

"Go get me a lantern. I can't see this, even with the moonlight." Sully, confused, obeyed and ran off to get me a light. About two minutes later, he came back, carrying a lantern for me. I grabbed it from him and held it up so I could see the compass. I turned the wheel to the right a bit and closed the compass. I hung the compass on my belt and handed the lantern back to the kid. "You should go back to sleep, Sully. Go below deck, this time. I'll stay up here." He stared at me for a while, still confused. I gave his shoulder a little shove. "Go on." He stumbled backwards and almost dropped the lantern. When he regained balance, he turned quickly and left. Once he was gone, I sat down against one of the masts and looked up at the sky. It was littered with quite a few stars. The moon was almost full. I started to think, out loud. "What am I going to do…? Bryant was supposed to help me…I'm never going to get him this way…We're heading away from China." I looked down at my lap. "I'm sorry, brother…" I really hadn't felt genuinely depressed since I had been taken. I hadn't been really alone. I closed me eyes and hugged myself. It was then I really realized that it was chilly. There was a wind that was picking up, which was good. It would help us move faster. After an hour or so, I was shivering but falling asleep. Before falling asleep, I checked the compass one last time as best I could with the light available, and then finally closed my eyes.

When I woke up, I was warm. I remembered going to sleep cold. I opened my eyes to find a sleeveless red jacket sitting on top of me. It was still dark, but the moon was shining right on me. _This jacket…_, I thought. I knew who it belonged to. I looked up and saw Andrew's back facing me. He was standing at the helm. His long, red dreadlocks were slightly blowing in the wind. I shifted a bit under his jacket, trying not to make any noise. When I moved, his compass, which was still hanging from my belt, hit the deck. The young captain spun around and looked down at me.

"I see you're awake now," he said. I nodded and stood up, bringing the jacket with me. I held it out to him, but didn't look at him.

"Thanks…" He reached out to take it. His hand brushed against mine. I let go of the jacket and pulled my hand away, quickly. He grabbed it before it fell to the ground and slipped it on.

"Your hands are cold," he pointed out. He reached out to take them. "Let me…" I let him. His hands were quite a bit bigger than mine. They were also warm. Something in me sparked. I don't know what it was. But it felt weird. And his hands felt very good…I looked up at him and caught him staring at me again. "I heard you had a run-in with Sully tonight." I smirked.

"I think I scared him, the poor kid." I looked out to the water. "What's a kid like him doing here anyway?"

"It's a long story," he said. "I'll save it for another sleepless night." I looked back up at his face.

"You haven't been so sleep yet?" He shook his head. "Aren't you tired?" He smiled down at me.

"Yes, very." He started rubbing my hands, slowly. "I've been finding it hard to sleep, lately. Too many things to worry about."

"Do you want me to help?" I asked.

"Possibly."

In this moment, I completely forgot all about India, Bryant, the Devil's Disgrace, the Black Oblivion and…my brother.

In this moment, Andrew leaned down and kissed me.


	4. Second Thoughts

Andrew, still holding my hands, dropped one and led me back below deck by the other. Sully was sitting on the stairs, leaned up against the wall, asleep. I only saw the boy for a moment as the young captain pulled me into his cabin and shut the door behind us. I pulled my hand free and leaned against the door. I reached out, grabbed his jacket and pulled him close to me. He put a hand on my cheek and leaned down to kiss me again. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, hard. He took my hands off of his jacket and shrugged it off. It landed on the floor behind him. Then, he slipped his shirt off and dropped it on top of the other piece of clothing. As he did this, I unbuckled the belt around my waist and let it drop to the floor with a _thud_. I heard Sully shift just outside the door. I used one hand to undo the one around my thigh, but I let that drop a little quieter. When I was standing up straight again, Andrew pressed his lips against me once more. He seemed hungrier now that he had on deck. I moved my hands to my bodice strings and started unlacing it as I kissed back.

"You're good at this," he whispered, only separating from me for a second.

_I used to do this for a living_, I thought to myself. _I better be good at this._ I tore the long string from my under bust bodice and shimmied out of it. My puffy, off-white shirt fell a little farther down my arms, exposing more of the tattoo that snaked around my back, shoulder, and half of my arm. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me over to his bed…

When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in Andrew's arms. He was holding me close and his skin was warm against mine. I started to look up, but when I moved my head, it hit his chin. He woke up. He looked a little disoriented at first but soon realized where he was. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Good morning." I smiled as well. He ran his fingers through my long hair. It made me turn a little red. I started to look back down. He untangled his hand from my hair and sat up, taking the cover with him. It left my chest exposed and I turned completely red. I sat up, as well, grabbed the sheet, and held it over my body. Andrew looked at me and laughed at my being so flustered. "It's nothing I haven't seen before." I shrugged. His eyes moved to my left arm. He saw the dragon tail, swirling around my upper arm. "May I?" I hesitated for a second, but nodded. I moved over to the side of the bed so I was next to him and turned my back toward him. He examined it. It started on the right side of my lower back and snaked around my back, over my shoulder, and around my arm, ending close to my elbow.

"It took a long time," I said. "It hurt, too."

"I bet it did," he said, still looking. "It's very intricate." I nodded. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me against him. He leaned against the wall and I on his chest.

"Will you tell me…what you brought me here for, Andrew?" He set his chin on my head.

"There is a man…who wants you," he said, unenthusiastically. "I bargained with him…" I sat up, quickly, pulling away from him.

"You're selling me?!" I almost yelled, disgusted. I turned to look at him, but he looked away from me with a frown. I shot him a glare. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Andrew opened his mouth to say something but the door opened and Sully walked in.

"Captain…," he started. The poor kid froze when he saw me, half covered and Andrew sitting on his bed, completely naked. "Whoa!" he yelled.

"Sully!" Andrew exclaimed, turning beet red. The small boy stared at us for a few minutes. "Sully, go away!" Sully scrambled out of the room, quickly, and slammed the door shut behind him. Once he was gone, I ran over and grabbed my clothes. I slipped on my shirt and then my black, skin-tight pants. I put the wine red bodice on and laced it up only halfway. I put my black, knee-high boots on and then buckled both belts on me.

"I can't believe you," I said, glaring at the young captain again. I put my hand on the doorknob and looked at the floor. "I can't believe I'm helping you get to the place where you'll be selling me." I sighed and looked back at him. "But at least I'll be getting away from you." I flung the door open and took off once again. This time, he didn't come after me. I ran above deck. Most of the crew was already there. The compass, which was still hanging from my belt, kept smacking me in the leg, reminding me that I should probably go and steer. I couldn't wait to get to India. At least there was someone waiting for me who wanted me.

"Out of my way," I commanded to Snake, the Native American crew member, who was standing at the helm.

"I don't take orders from prisoners," he said, glaring at me. I put my hands over my sword and my gun.

"If I'm a prisoner, why am I walking around the ship freely, carrying my weapons?" He thought for a few seconds. "Now, move away." He backed away, finally. I pulled Andrew's compass off my belt and flipped it open. Some of the crew had stopped to stare at me, but I didn't care. I spun the wheel a little to the right. I shoved the compass into Snake's hands. "We're going to India. Captain's orders. Stay on this course. I'll come back when we have to change directions." The Native American stared at me, dumbfounded. I walked away, lacing up the rest of my bodice, tightly.

Over the next three or four days, as we drew closer to India, I stayed away from Andrew. I spent most of the time with Chaac, who barely spoke any English, and Diego. Snake started to warm up to me after I cooled off. He invited me to sit with him and some of the crew when he told his tribe's stories of creation and other things. They fascinated me. The stories were exciting but sometimes confusing. On fourth night, after everyone had started to head down to their bunks, I got up from where we were sitting and went over to the helm. Snake came over to me, holding a lantern and the compass.

"You going to stay up all night, Dragon?" he asked me, passing the compass over to me. I opened it and he held the light up for me.

"Yeah…," I started, looking closely at the compass. "We should get to India by tomorrow afternoon."

"Do you want me to stay out here for a while with you?" he offered. I flipped the compass closed and hung it on my belt. I smiled up at him.

"No, it's alright. I know you're tired. Go ahead to bed." He started towards the stairs that led below deck. I grabbed the lantern from him before he went. "Ah…leave this with me, please."

"Goodnight," he said. I nodded. He turned and left, mumbling under his breath. I thought I heard something like, "…a great navigator…" and, "…sad to see her go." I smiled, watching him leave. Once he was gone, I put the lantern on the ground and slowly walked to the bow of the ship. I leaned over the side and looked down. I couldn't see the water, but I could hear it. I vaguely wondered who the man I was being sold to was. The thought of my brother hadn't even come to mind. I figured it was just some man that I had met when I was a prostitute. There were quite a few, although drunk, who became quite attached. Would he be nice to me? Or…would I have to find some what to get away from him? I was too caught up in my thoughts to hear someone walk up behind me.

"Dragon Eire?" I heard Andrew's voice come from behind me. I hung my head, my forehead almost hitting the wood on the ship. I didn't want to talk to him. I stood up straight and turned around.

"What do you want?" I asked, angrily, crossing my arms over my stomach.

"I want to explain."

"What can you possibly have to explain? You're selling me to some guy for profit."

"This guy was going to sell Benten and Bishamon's sister to a man that would probably kill her if I hadn't bargained to bring you to him." My expression changed. He took a step closer to me. "But…"

"But?" I tried to step back but the side of the ship was there, so I couldn't go very far. When he saw the I couldn't go very far, he came right up to me. He reached his hand out and put his fingertips on my cheek and moved them into my hair.

"But, I'm not sure if I want to let you go just yet…"

"What?" Before he could say anything, the ship moved violently. It made me fall in Andrew. He caught me by the shoulders and stood me up straight. I leaned over the side of the ship and looked down. Staying in that position, I looked over at the young captain. "Reef?" He shrugged. The ship kept sailing on.

"Must've been…"

"Go to bed, Andrew. It's late." I stood up straight once again and started walking towards the helm again. "We'll be in India by tomorrow afternoon." He followed me.

"But…"

"No buts. It's what you wanted," I said, opening the compass again. He sighed. I handed the compass to him. "This belongs to you; I won't be needing it anymore." He took it from me and pocketed it.

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked, getting closer to the wheel. I turned it violently. Andrew jumped back so he didn't get hit. I could feel the ship turn.

"I heard you."

"So?" he asked, anxious, like a giddy little school boy. I shook my head.

"Go to bed, Andrew." He looked down at the lantern and shrugged.

"Whatever you want…" He turned and skulked away, down to his cabin. I watched him leave. I heard the door close. As soon as I did, I saw Sully come up the stairs. The small boy walked over to me.

"Yes?"

"You know, Andrew has really taking a liking to you," he said. I smirked.

"Go away, kid. He'll be rid of me by tomorrow and by next week, I'm sure he'll have forgotten about me." Sully shrugged. He stared up at the stars for a while before leaving me alone. I looked down at the lantern and stared at the light, frowning. The wind started blowing hard; hard enough to blow out the fire.

In the morning, I was shaken until I woke up. When I opened my eyes, I saw Snake standing over me. I was suddenly very cold. I looked around me. The deck was wet. My clothes were soaked.

"How could you sleep through that?" I shrugged.

"I'm a deep sleeper."

"Well, wet or not, the captain wants to see you." I nodded. He pulled me up by my upper arm and I walked off towards Andrew's cabin.


	5. India

"You…stay…with…Dragon Eire," I heard Andrew's voice, loud and slow, before I even got below deck. He must have been talking to Chaac. "Diego will be with you too." I reached the cabin as Chaac was nodding to his captain. He came out of the room and smiled at me. I nodded at him and entered Andrew's cabin.

"Yes?" I asked, crossing my arms over my stomach.

"We're a day early, thanks to you." He started to roll up the map that had been sitting on his desk for at least a week. "Which means we can stay and rest for an extra day." He walked over to a tall cabinet in the corner of the room and shoved the map in. I've instructed Diego and Chaac to stay with you."

"Fine," I said with a shrug. "I'd like spending time with them rather than you." He paused for a moment and then acted as if I hadn't said it.

"I will allow you to keep your weapons for now, in case you need them, but if you try something…"

"I get it. You'll take them away," I said. "Is that all?" Andrew nodded. I turned to go back up to the deck. Once I was there, I looked out to the front of the ship. "Looks like we're here…" I walked over to Snake, who was standing at the helm.

"It looks like we'll have to go the rest of the way in the boats," he said, staring out to the same place I was. I nodded. He yelled at someone to drop the anchor. Captain Andrew Shackles came up on the deck, wearing his usual red coat and white shirt. He was the only captain I' really every seen who didn't have a fascination with big hats. He pointed to a few of his crew members, including Diego and Chaac. His last choice was me. We got into one of the small boats. I sat between the two I would be spending my time with on land. I could feel Andrew's eyes on me but I ignored him. I stared out at the water instead. We tied up the boat at a dock and went on our way. Andrew whispered something to Diego and then walked off with Benten and ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Snake. We walked a little ways and found a market place. I got excited. I'm a girl and I love to shop. The boys walked around, being as patient as they could with me, as I looked around with wide eyes. I stopped them at a place that sold all kinds of jewelry. The owner of the shop eyed me suspiciously, knowing I was a pirate. After a while, I paid for a piece of jewelry and left. A few hours later, someone came from the ship to pick us up. The other boat would have to be left there for Andrew, when he came back. When we got to the ship, I pulled Chaac down to Andrew's quarters and took out what I had bought.

"Will you put this in for me?" I asked. He looked at me, confused. _Oh, right. Not much English…_I looked for his earring. I pointed to it, and then pointed at me. He nodded, knowing what I was talking about. I showed him how it went. It was a nose ring connected, with a small, thin chain, to an earring. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a sharpened wooden spike. It was very thing. He was also holding a wooden jar of something.

"It…will…hurt," he said, slowly. He had been picking up some English. I nodded and sat down in the chair by the desk. Chaac put a hand underneath my chin and forced it up so I was looking up at him. He put the stake through my earlobe. I winced and clenched my teeth. He put the earring in, quickly, and stuck his hand into the jar. He pulled out a white cream sort of thing and spread it over the piercing. It was cold. Really cold. But, suddenly, the pain was gone. Next, he went for my nose. He did the same thing, but this time I let a tear fall from one of my eyes. In went the ring and on went the cream. He stood back, away from me and looked at it. I wiped the tear from my cheek. I stood up and went over to a mirror that was hanging on the wall.

"Not too bad," I said to myself. I looked back over to Chaac. "Thank you." He pointed to his jar and thought for a second, trying to think of the words.

"Once…a…a…," he began.

"Day?" I finished for him. He smiled and nodded. He left. I looked down from the mirror. "He'll have to pack some up for me…"

The rest of the day went by without incident. Diego poked fun at my new piercing, said it made me look funny. But, I rather liked it. I found myself, while I was eating dinner, wondering what Andrew would think of it. I caught myself thinking about it and shook it out of my head. It was still a while longer before the captain actually showed up with the other two crew members. For an hour or so before they got back to the ship, I sat in the chair at the desk in Andrew's cabin and thought for a good long while. I jumped in the chair when he trudged in, but he didn't notice I was there. He pulled his red jacket off and hung it up. He looked tired. Before long, he noticed that I was sitting there.

"Dragon Eire?" he said, surprised.

"Michelle," I said, quickly. "Call me Michelle while you're alone with me. Dragon Eire…" I looked down before I finished my sentence. He walked up to me and forced me to look up at him. His expression was soft.

"Michelle…," he said, leaning down.

"Please, don't barter me off, Andrew…," I said, desperately. "I…I like it here. I don't want to…"

"I don't want you to leave, either." He smiled and kissed me, suddenly, as if I would change my mind if he didn't. I reached up and put both hands on his cheeks and pressed hard against his lips. He took his lips off of mine and pressed his forehead against mine. "Don't worry. I won't sell you to him." I smiled. He moved away and took a look at my face. He tugged on the chain connecting my new rings. I giggled. "This looks like Chaac's handiwork," Andrew said.

"It is. I bought it today in the marketplace," I said. I took the dagger out of my boot and used it as a small mirror. "Diego told me it looked funny." I moved the knife around, looking that the piercing. Andrew pushed my wrist down into my lap. I looked up at him.

"It looks beautiful." I smiled. He pointed to his eyebrow piercing.

"Chaac?" He nodded.

"Just make sure that you keep going to him for that cream for a few days," he advised. "It really helps keep infection and pain away."

"Yeah, no kidding." I slipped the dagger back into it's sheath. "We should probably go…" Before I could finish the sentence, he walked out of the room, quickly, and ran to where the grew was sleeping.

"All hands on deck!" I heard him yell. I also heard a thump and wondered if that was someone falling out of their bed. It made me giggle. Andrew came back, but stopped in the doorway. "Stay here; I'll be back soon."

"What are you…" I got up, quickly, to go to him but he shut the door in my face. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, how mature." I smirked and went to go sit down again. Outside the door, I heard people moving around, going upstairs to the deck. I picked up a book that was sitting on the floor by the desk and started to read it. After a little while, I heard a girl yelling.

"What about my sister?!" Benten yelled, just about me.

"Don't worry," Andrew said, calmly. "We'll get her back."

"But…"

"Would you defy your captain?" After that, I didn't hear a peep out of her. It was mostly quiet up there, except for a few commands the captain yelled out. After an hour or so, Andrew hadn't come back yet and I was getting tired. I figured he wouldn't care if I slept in his bed, so I set the book on the floor and went over to his bed. I laid down, covered myself up, and was out in a matter of minutes.

I heard the door open and slam against the wall. I jumped up in the bed, eyes wide open, hand ready to grab a weapon. I relaxed a little when I saw that it was only Andrew. I dropped back down in his bed and sighed.

"You scared me," I said, just loud enough for him to hear. He walked over and sat on the side of the bed, looking down at me.

"Sorry about that," he said, running a hand down the side of my face. "I'll leave you alone. Go back to sleep."

"No, no." I started to sit up. "You have to get your sleep…" He pushed me back on to the bed and laid down next to me.

"You're just fine where you are." I smiled. There was a call from above deck. Andrew sighed and rolled his eyes. He sat up again. "Go back to sleep, Michelle. I'll wake you up in the morning." He stood up and took off again. I watched his back as he left and closed the door again. Once he was gone, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

That night, I dreamt about my brother. I remembered that day, long ago, when I watched him walking away towards the docks. His hair has been blonde, like mine. I didn't get to see his eyes since all I saw was his back. I wondered if he looked like me at all. His facial features, eye color, and everything, I had imagined for years. Was I really making the right choice, staying with Andrew and the Red Dread? Then again…I was more likely to find my brother while on the Red Dread than with some man I didn't know…What would happen if I found him? How would that affect…Andrew and I? Whenever I thought about leaving him…it hurt. And, at this point, I had completely pushed Bryant out of my head. I vaguely remembered that he said he was going to come look for me.

I woke up when someone gently pushed me over on the bed. It was pitch black in the room; someone had blown all the candles out. He climbed into the bed next to me. I opened my mouth to say something but he grabbed my hands.

"It's alright," Andrew's voice said. "Only me. Go back to sleep." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him. He was wearing pants, but he had taken his shirt off. I relaxed, closed my eyes, and for the third time that night, fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun was shining through the dirty windows of the cabin. I was alone in the bed, but Andrew's shirt was sitting on his desk and the jacket was hanging up on a hook in the wall. I uncovered myself and stood up. There was a roll of bread sitting on a tray on the desk. I assumed it was for me. I stretched and went over to the desk. I broke the roll in half, not feeling very hungry, and went above deck while nibbling on it. Andrew was there, shirtless and distressed, talking to Snake, at the helm. I looked out to the water and saw a ship tailing us. It's flag was raised. The Double Ds…it was the Devil's Disgrace. A wave of disappointment washed over me. Andrew saw me standing there, staring at the other ship. He quickly walked over to me and pulled me down the stairs.

"We're trying to outrun them, Michelle…but I don't know if we can," he confessed. I nodded and looked down. "We can hide you…but if they take over the ship they'll search all over."

"No, don't hide me. I need to face Bryant," I said, looking back up. "All I ask…is that you don't kill anyone on that ship." Andrew nodded. We went back up to the deck and waited for the other ship to arrive.


End file.
